Alex Hawke (Mitchell, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

The people of India should be congratulated on the successful conduct of India's democratic election, a significant achievement. Around 66 per cent of 815 million registered voters cast a vote, making it the largest democratic exercise in the world. The Australian government congratulates Bharatiya Janata Party, led by Narendra Modi, and its National Democratic Alliance partners on their decisive win. Prime Minister Abbott spoke to Mr Modi on 16 May to congratulate him on his electoral success and to invite Mr Modi to visit Australia to attend the G20 summit and to conduct a bilateral program.

The Minister for Foreign Affairs, Julie Bishop, spoke to the new Minister of External Affairs Mrs Sushma Swaraj, to congratulate her on her appointment. The Australian government looks forward to working with Mr Modi's government to strengthen the strong and strategic partnership with India. I also want to add my own congratulations to Narendra Modi and to the party as chair of the Australia parliament's India network. I look forward to working with the member for Greenway to ensure a great relationship with India.

India has a population of 1.27 billion people. Such a landslide victory means that Indians are desperate for change. Mr Modi not only brings in a new government but represents a change in the way the Indian people respond to ineffective government. He stands as a symbol of empowerment and has a remarkable story, from a humble background to a strong record in the state of Gujarat where he became chief minister in October 2001. He was by far the longest serving of anyone in that position until he became Prime Minister. He has been immensely successful in transforming the state of Gujarat from a more economically backward state with no infrastructure into a progressive, modern and peaceful area—a remarkable record.

In the 67 years since independence, India has made a conscious and successful effort to remain secular. It is something that we share in common with them. It is a country so strongly rooted in rich Hindu tradition and culture. There are people from a plethora of religious and other backgrounds. It is rather easy to allow, sometimes, religious doctrines to infiltrate government and administrative processes. Secularism has been a highly important tool in maintaining communal relations, in particular between Hindus and Muslims. India has always, in that regard, been described as a land of contradictions. From Bollywood to literature, from music to textiles, culture and religion permeate every level of Indian society and have become India's most popular and visible exports.

Sometimes people observe that there are striking physical differences between our countries. Sometimes it is assumed that we have little in common. This is a gross misconception. From my own dealings with the Indian-Australian communities in Western Sydney and our bigger cities, and from the great relationship we have shared over the years, I can attest that India and Australia share a great history, not just of British colonisation and being English-speaking nations. We are also large democracies, secular states and key economic players in the Asia-Pacific region. We have strong relations in vital economic, political and cultural ways. There is a sizeable Indian diaspora here in Australia, with a large proportion being very skilled migrants.

Tourism is an important way that we broaden cultural boundaries. We have seen great grown in recent years, an increase of 7.5 per cent from 2012-13 to 2013-14 in tourism. We also have international students. While this has suffered some bad reputational situations in the recent past, there are very strong links built on Indian recognition of Australia's expertise in international education. India is the second highest source country for foreign students in Australia. Australian institutions are also expanding the delivery of education services in India to assist India to meet its vocational training and skills development needs. The government hopes to begin sending students to India from 2015 under the government's New Colombo Plan.

Under the leadership of its new chair, senior Australian businessman Ashok Jacob, the Australia-India Council is playing its part by strengthening its work in science, technology, public policy, tourism, sport and the arts. The Australian government is encouraging greater trade expansion between our two nations and the export of resources to India, which is driving Indian development. The re-establishment of the uranium trade between our two countries has been more than welcome given its vital nature.

Our government is looking forward to strengthening parliamentary ties between India and Australia. I want to note the great victory that the BJP has had in this election and welcome the new government. We are hoping against great hope that we see the Prime Minister visit Australia in the near future. I look forward to meeting all of the new members of parliament and the new ministers in the new government, and I hope we have a great relationship between our two nations well into the future.

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